A mum-of-two is hoping to put the heart and soul back into a Nottinghamshire village pub which was "limping" along. The empty seats at the Cuckoo Bush saddened Jo Smith as she sat there having a drink while her daughter was working behind the bar.
Now 12 months down the line, the former Topknot hairdresser and childcare worker has stepped in to become the new landlady at the Gotham pub, helped by her soon-to-be husband Richard James. Jo's daughters Molly, 20, and Rosie, 18, are also working there when they're not at university and college.
Jo, who previously lived in the village for 20 years and ran the Rainbows and Brownie groups, said: "We were sat there on a Saturday afternoon and it was empty. I said to Richard you have no idea what this pub used to be. It was so sad seeing it empty. It had lost its soul.
